Some 300 business figures, policy makers and academics will gather in Canterbury next week for the return of the Kent and Medway Business Summit.

The event at the University of Kent takes place on Wednesday, April 27.

Originally scheduled for January, the fifth outing of the popular event was pushed back to this month due to the pandemic.

Confirmed speakers include Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the Institute of Directors; Cllr Roger Gough, leader of Kent County Council; Richard Hicks, deputy chief executive of Medway Council; and Andy Martin, director of communications and strategy at London Resort Company Holdings - the company behind the proposed multi-billion pound London Resort theme park on the Swanscombe Peninsula.

The final keynote speech, on 'five innovations that will change our lives within five years', will be delivered by Andy Stanford Clark, master inventor at IBM.

Workshop contributors include Emma Wilcox, project director at Creative Estuary and Bal Sandher, managing director of Hectic Lifestyles, and winner of both the KEiBA 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year and Manufacturer of the Year; and Kresse Wesling, the co-founder of Elvis and Kresse.